Culpa rubet vultus meus

Deacon hesitated when he heard voices. 'I'm telling you, Nick, she means business.' When he recognised the reporter, he almost turned, but decided against it. These two hung out a lot recently. He wasn't sure if he liked it.

'Hi,' he said crisply, stepping into Nick's office. 'Miss Wright. Nick.'

'Oh.' Nick looked at him as if he was taking his measure. 'Good to see you. I have a request. I am close to solving your problem, I believe, and I can think of no-one better for mine.'

Deacon frowned. 'I'm not sure if I'm curious or scared.'

'No need for fear. I need a second opinion. I want you to shadow someone. Look what they do, how they do it, and tell me if they can be trusted.' He smiled. 'You might gain an asset.'

'Where are they, why would they want to help me of all people, and just how close are we talking about?'

Nick smiled. It wasn't the encouraging smile he'd given Deacon when he felt ready to fling himself off Trinity Tower – which was saying something about him. Nor was it the wry grin the detective sometimes had when someone thought to outsmart him. It was slow and warm and very genuine. 'I'll answer those backwards, all right? I have a relatively vague idea, but if you come to the same conclusion, I'll be confident enough to let you go there. Why my subject wants to help eludes me. Where … Well. Try Sanctuary if Annie Marshall isn't home.'

Deacon blinked. 'The vault dweller?'

'No. He means the other Annie Marshall everyone's talking about. Deacon, you're a good guy, but you're not too bright. Nick, do we seriously send a city guard after her?'

'Oh, you're wrong there, Piper.' Nick's gaze was fixed on Deacon in a rather unsettling manner. He wanted him to do something, but Deacon had no idea what. 'Deacon here is quite brilliant and a lot more than just a city guard.'

Piper huffed. 'Unless he can conjure the Railroad out of his scrawny butt, not brilliant enough.'

Years of schooling his face into one of indifference paid off in that moment. He would have bought his own shock, he thought. 'The Railroad? You mean they're really out there?'

Piper looked at him the way she might look at a particularly dense child. Or dog. Dense dog, most likely. 'Yes. They're really out there. And I need them, Nick. What's more, she needs them. And they'd better listen, because she's not who we both thought she was. She's a good person.'

'Well. Deacon, find out if that's true. Tail Annie. Report to me please. Piper … Deacon's run afoul of her before. If he agrees with you, that's saying something. Before he does, I find it too good to believe, even if I had similar suspicions.'

Ϡ

Annie and Piper's search had been completely futile. The journalist had promised to find out whatever she could. Apparently she knew someone who knew someone. Once she was done, she'd contact Annie at her home. As a precaution, Annie sent X6-88 off to defend the Red Rocket Truck station. She'd sent several people there, among others Trashcan Carla, whose name had shown up among others on an Institute Terminal. She considered collecting her enemies there and just nuking the place.

Annie herself returned to Sanctuary after what felt like an eternity. She helped out Preston Garvey. The Minuteman seemed surprised but didn't question her change of mind overly much. She found Cait in a state close to death, only to find out that the woman hadn't actually overdosed, but quite the contrary. She dragged Cait into the middle of no-where to help her get clean, wondering how she hadn't cared before.

And somehow, every time she visited Sanctuary, her eyes were drawn up the hill to the vault she had come out of.

Ϡ

With every day that passed, the image Deacon had of Annie changed more. He'd thought she was violent, sociopathic, and sadistic. Now she showed compassion and kindness to an addict, to Preston's ridiculously foolish settlers, to goddamn baby deathclaws. She also seemed happy. Well, happy-ish. She suddenly had people with her, from time to time. Mostly Cait or some mercenary type, but one day she convinced Hancock to follow her out of Goodneighbor, and to Deacon's surprise, the ghoul went with her.

The next time she walked away alone without even Dogmeat, Deacon followed her with a sense of foreboding. Her steps went away from Sanctuary rather erratically, but the final destination became clear after a while: Vault 111. Deacon watched as she vanished down the elevator. And rather than hiding, he sat down at the edge of the platform and waited.

Ϡ

When the elevator came back up, Annie didn't even see him at first. She walked … stumbled a few paces before sinking to the floor in a heap. Deacon heard her sob and approached quietly. He crouched less than an arm's reach from her. 'Reckless,' he said softly. She didn't even jump much. When her eyes settled on his he saw the recognition.

'Have your people sent you to kill me after all?'

It was tempting to go along with this, but Deacon refrained. 'No. I'm watching you.'

She spread her arms. 'Like what you see? Go on. I'm unarmed, we're alone. Have your way.'

The remark shouldn't hurt, but for some reason it did. 'Sorry to disappoint. Not going to hurt you.' He gestured to the platform with his chin. 'So. What's the deal? What were you doing in there?'

She swallowed. 'I asked N…Nate to forgive me for turning into a monster.'

'The dead tend to forgive so easily it isn't all that satisfying.'

'You sound like you know the feeling.'

Deacon pressed his lips together. He wasn't going to go there. Not ever. 'I'd like to show you something. Please come with me.' He led the way up to the small camp with just a chair and a bit of junk. 'See this?' he asked and pointed.

'Saw this the first day I came out.'

'This,' he said, folding his arms, 'is a railsign. It's how we – the Railroad – communicate. It means "ally".' He turned away. 'We've kept an eye on that vault for a very long time now. We didn't think anyone would come out, not anymore. But there was a time where we figured anyone surviving this might be a friend to us.' He looked at the sign. 'Are you, Annie? Or are you my enemy? I don't think so, somehow. Not anymore.'

'I need the Railroad.'

'I heard. It doesn't answer my question. Do you want to find us to wipe us out?'

Annie's eyes were large and green. 'I need the Railroad. Or someone else does. He's at the Institute and planning some sort of great escape. A synth. I talked to him.'

'Why would I believe you?'

'Because … Because …' She deflated visibly. 'There is no reason. I just … I've caused so much pain. I want to … I need to do something good.'

'You reckon helping synths is something good? Since when?'

'I don't know. But I know that the Brotherhood is mental, the Institute is a monstrosity, and the Minutemen are toothless. You're my only option. The only ones who won't cause more pain than they must.'

'Don't mistake us for pacifists, Annie.' He looked down at Sanctuary. 'If you truly want to help us, come with me. It will be dangerous, and it will be horrible. Help me recover something we have lost. If you do this, I'll have some ground on which I can vouch for you. And believe you me, without that you're not getting past Glory, God bless her.'